


Spear as a Walking Stick

by Coffee_Buzzed



Series: Clad In Black (And Various Other Colors) [3]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Blood and Gore, Furry, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-17 22:07:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17568797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coffee_Buzzed/pseuds/Coffee_Buzzed
Summary: The burner phone rang a particular tone. A black paw reached over the desk and picked the phone up between its claws. The orange-striped figure answered the call, but said nothing. After a moment of silence, a voice came from the other end. It said only four words, but it was enough. The words?"We need you again".The figure hung up.





	Spear as a Walking Stick

 

 

 The burner phone rang a particular tone. A black paw reached over the desk and picked the phone up between its claws. The orange-striped figure answered the call, but said nothing. After a moment of silence, a voice came from the other end. It said only four words, but it was enough. The words?

 

"We need you again".

 

The figure hung up.

 

 

 

___________________________________

 

 

 

    As the line went dead the shark lowered his office phone back to its stand. With a sigh, he sunk back into his swivel chair. He ran a grey hand over his face and furrowed his brown eyes. He REALLY didn't want to call HIM again.

 

   He was a risk to the entire operation, however, the benefits out weighed the doubts. Certain people were poking too close and those certain people were in charge of a larger gang that could obliterate his. They had to be taken care of, and luckily his contact didn't have a problem with taking care of people of their...profession.

 

   The doors to the shark's office opened and a black dog wearing a flannel stepped through. The dog focused his yellow eyes on the shark.

 

"Have you figured out a solution to our problem yet, Zander?"

 

"I've gotten in contact with Ajax again, though I have no clue when we are going to meet. Knowing him it'll be when I least expect it. I'm sure we will discuss details then."

 

   Zander rolled his eyes in annoyance of his extremely abrupt phone call. He hated that assassin, but work needed to be done. The black wolf, Kaid, spoke again.

 

"You gotta stop calling him Zander. You keep on betting and sooner or later you will loose. God knows what might happen if we start to catch his attention."

 

"He gets the job done. I offer him a good sum of money for each job and I'm hoping that he will take a liking to us."

 

Kaid spoke in an urgent tone, "He is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick but that will not change its nature."

 

   Zander considered this.

 

 

 

___________________________________

 

 

 

    It was later that night while Zander was getting ready to leave his office that Ajax made his appearance. Kaid and his other security had already gone home. Zander was completely alone.

 

   He had just locked some papers in a desk drawer when the lights went out. Zander sighed. Every time he came by he did this and Zander always had to rewire the box. It was one of the many things he didn't like about him. Ajax always liked to be dramatic. 

 

   He turned around to see the silhouette of the assassin. The assassin's horns were prominent despite the darkness that covered the figure like a blanket, shrouding the details in blackness. The sight was slightly intimidating (Zander was sure that if it were a different person not accustomed to it they would be quaking in their boots), however he kept a straight face.

 

"So," the figure spoke in a toneless voice, "have I got a job?"

 

   His horns seemed to bore down on Zander, and he swore that he could see a slight purple gleam in the shadows where supposedly the figure's face was.

 

   Zander turned and opened the drawer he had literally. Just. Locked, taking a file with a small picture attached in the corner and holding it out to the assassin.

 

"We need him gone."

 

   A clawed hand took the file, delicately holding it as to not accidentally destroy the information. Ajax held the file up to his face looking it over. The darkness didn't give away his expression, though Zander was sure it was a poker face. A small "Hmmph" came from the silhouette.

 

"What's the price?" Ajax Lowered the paper.

 

"30,000 for him. Added on 1,000 for every extra high rank you kill."

 

"Make it 40,000."

 

Zander paused. "Deal."

 

   The figure nodded and folded the paper neatly, tucking it away somewhere in the blackness.

 

"It'll be done within the week. I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain as usual."

 

With that the figure left, leaving Zander alone in the room with another fucking box to fix.

 

 

 

___________________________________

 

 

 

   Ajax kept his word. After three days the target and two others were dead. Zander never doubted Ajax would solve his problem, but now he had an issue.

 

   Zander was getting nervous. The words Kaid had spoke had sunk into him...

 

"Keep betting and eventually you will loose."

 

   Something needed to be done about Ajax. The assassin had served them well but he couldn't risk having him running around. Ajax was a threat.

 

   That's how Zander found himself talking through a radio to one of his best snipers (who was currently stationed on the roof Ajax normally picked up his pay). It would be quick and simple. Just a shot to the heart and it would be over. Zander never liked the assassin, but he figured that he would show some courtesy. He had helped them after all.

 

"Any sign of him?"

 

"Not yet." The gruff voice spoke from the device.

 

"Are you sure we didn't miss him?"

 

"I checked the spot when I got here. Cash was still there."

 

   What was taking him so long? The sooner that Ajax came, the sooner he would get shot, and the sooner he got shot, the sooner Zander could rest easy.

 

   Suddenly, a faint whistling sound came from the radio. Did he take a shot? Zander didn't remember the sniper having a suppressor.

 

"Vulture, do you copy?"

 

   The only response was radio static.

 

"Vulture, do you copy?"

 

   There was no answer.

 

   Zander felt dread start to bubble up from his stomach. It sloshed in his insides, like water in the ocean, progressing from a sunny day to a raging storm. He could feel it bubble up his throat, but he pushed it down. Maybe something just happened to the radio signal.

 

 

 

___________________________________

 

 

 

     It definitely wasn't the radio. 

 

   They found the sniper laying face down on the roof top, face smashed against the concrete. The ground around him was stained a deathly scarlet, reminding Zander of wine spilt on a white carpet. A silver knife was found sticking out of the sniper's back. By some miracle, it had managed to dig through the rib cage and directly into the heart. Perhaps the sniper would have survived if he hadn't tried to move for his gun. The gun was found a few feet away from him. A blood trail showed that he had desperately tried to crawl for it, but the movement dislodged the blade, causing him to bleed out.

 

   When the hiding place was checked, the money was missing. Upon further investigation, a small "A" was found scratched into the ground next to the usual drop off spot.  

 

   Zander was completely, and utterly, fucked.

 

   At the present moment, Zander was sitting at his desk, a full on glass of vodka in hand. He needed something strong. Zander was panicked to say the least. He hadn't thought of the consequences if his plan failed, and now, he was about to figure them out.

 

   He took another swig from the glass. No. He was overreacting. Ajax was one man. He couldn't get him. Zander had sent only one man after him. There was no way that Ajax could take on all of his security. He was safe. He repeated the phrase to himself. He was safe. Zander would still need to clean up this mess, take the trash out if you will, but he was safe. Ajax wouldn't be able to get him. He wasn't scared of some mysterious figure, that needed shadows to hide himself. That action was a testament to how weak Ajax really was. 

 

   Kaid walked through the door once again.

 

"What the HELL were you thinking!?"

 

   Zander looked up unmoved by the bout of anger. 

 

"You said it yourself. He was a threat, so I tried to eliminate him."

 

"And now that you failed what do you think he will do?  You stabbed the devil in the back, so he did the same to your sniper. Do you really think he will stop there?"

 

   Zander looked at Kaid. The canine had genuine fear in his eyes. What the hell did he think was going to happen? Was he going to combust just because the assassin looked at him?

 

"I'm not scared of Ajax."

 

"But you should be! This guy has taken down every target you have given him, without fail. You better bet we just moved to the top of his hit list!"

 

   Zander sighed quietly in exasperation.

 

"Just increase security Kaid. We will be fine."

 

 

 

___________________________________

 

 

 

   The next morning, Zander woke up to find he had been hacked. 

 

    Most of his bank account was gone accept for a few thousand dollars. Now while this royally pissed Zander off, he was mainly confused. The reason for his confusion being that his office phone now played Jaws music rather than its normal ring. How the hell did they even do that? It wasn't even a cell phone! 

 

   Though his team looked into it, The digital footprint couldn't be traced. They found nothing missing (besides the money of course), but that didn't mean that the culprit hadn't looked at their files. The only evidence they found was what seemed to be a signature hidden throughout their files. When the scattered words and numbers were compiled together they spelt "H4B1T". Whoever this H4B1T guy was he definitely did a good job erasing his footsteps. 

 

   For what seemed to be the hundredth time in the past week, Zander sighed and ran his hand over his face. This sucked. Sometimes he really hated being a gang leader.

 

   Zander thought to himself. He wouldn't be surprised if Ajax was behind the hacking. He really needed to take care of him. Zander cracked his knuckles. It was time to do some research on his issue.

 

 

 

___________________________________

 

 

 

   Gathering information on an assassin isn't easy.  You can't just look it up on the internet. All the files gathered by police would be private, and these days who knew how trust worthy the news is. It was like a constant game of telephone, information getting distorted from one pair of lips to another, until its nothing like the truth. No. To get information on an assassin you need to know the right people and have connections. Luckily this is something Zander has.

 

   One of his people had tracked down someone who claimed to have survived a hit by Ajax. From what he heard they were still pretty shaken up. Zander had arranged a meet up with the Leopard to try to gain some more information on his new rival. They were scheduled to meet at a restaurant that served as a front for Zanders gang. Kaid had warned him that when he got there not to stare. Kaid never elaborated on what.

 

   When he arrived at the doors of the restaurant, he ordered his two guards to stand by the entrance. The restaurant was Italian themed and small. Windows faced outside, allowing natural light to enter, creating an enjoyable atmosphere. Zander pushed past the polished wooden doors, and was directed to a table that the leopard was sitting at. He was staring down into his lap with an unreadable face. The people at the other side of the restaurant kept sending the leopard quick glances of sadness or horror. Zander didn't know what they were staring at until the leopard turned to look at him.

 

   The left side of his face was completely demolished. The skin was bare of any fur. Ragged, jarring scars covered every inch of the patch. Half of the leopard's lips were missing, allowing the teeth to be visible. The leopards eye was there, but was a mix of a milky white and pure black. As Zander walked closer to the table, he could see that the scars seemed to be almost sunken into his guest's face. Luckily for Zander, he had mastered the poker face.

 

   Zander pulled the chair out so he could sit down. The leopard flinched with the side of his face that was still usable.

 

"Im assuming your Zander," The leopard said in a rough voice.

 

"That I am," Zander reached a hand across the table to the leopard, "And what shall I call you?"

 

The leopard met his hand, " Alex."

 

"Pleased to meet you, Alex."

 

   There was an awkward silence between them, neither animal knowing how or wanting to start the conversation. Alex spoke first.

 

"I'm assuming you want me to tell you about my experience with the devil."

 

Zander nodded, "If you don't mind."

 

   The leopard nodded in return and started his story.

 

   "I was serving as security for a mob boss at the time. I knew the danger, and I knew that there were people who wanted the boss's head, but I never expected that the job would nearly kill me. I had been working for two years with no problems after all. 

 

   It was at night. The boss was selling arms to someone in an old warehouse. He had brought a small army with him, myself included. Everything was going fine. No interruptions.  Then all of a sudden it turned into a war zone! It happened too fast for me to get a good look but there was blood....God there was so...so much blood..."

 

   The leopard began to shake.

 

   "It was a fucking frenzy. The gun shots were so loud and the bullets were whizzing past my ears. I could taste the copper on my tongue.

 

   He started with the knives first. I don't know where they were coming from but people were falling around me. Once he ran out of those I think that's when he started using the shotgun. I saw a quite few go down before he finally got me."

 

   Alex reached a paw to his face.

 

   "I remember hitting the ground. Then I woke up in the hospital. He blew off half my face with the shotgun. One of the pellets hit my eye and burst the pupil. I later found out that I was the only one who made it out alive."

 

   Suddenly, Alex reached over the table and grabbed Zander's shoulders.

 

 "Listen to me, Zander. If you pissed the devil off you need to run. Run as fast as you can. He will come after you, and he will turn you into a monster like me."

 

   Zander was startled by Alex's words. But he kept his cool. 

 

"Ajax is but one man. He wont be able to make it past my security-"

 

   Zander was cut off by Alex.

 

"No you don't understand! He wasn't alone. Someone was shooting before he even touched a gun."

 

 

___________________________________

 

 

 

    Zanders Interview with Alex had left him rattled. What if Alex was right? Would Ajax really be able to get past his security? No. That couldn't be possible. Alex had said he hit his head on the way down. He probably was imagining some of the more outrageous aspects of his story. Zander was safe.

 

    It had been about a week since his interview. If something were to happen, it would have by now. 

 

   Zander didn't have time to worry about Ajax today anyway. Zander had a meeting today with some of the other gang leaders in the area. The hope was that they could form some kind of truce.

 

   Zander smoothed down his suit and exited his office. He made his way down the steps and out the doors of the building. He got into the car that was waiting for him, and slid into the backseat of the car. The rest of the seats were filled up with armed security, as well as two other cars, one in front one in back. The car began to move, and Zander prepared himself for the drive. 

 

    It was about fifteen minutes later when shit hit the fan. The car had turned down an alley and Taken quite a few back roads when the first gun shot rang off. The driver of Zander's car slumped over the wheel as the car started to swerve.

 

"HOLY SHIT!"

 

   The guard sitting passenger quickly reached over the body and regained control of the wheel. The car crashed into the brick wall, denting it's bumper. The men in the other cars quickly pulled over, running out and firing their guns. 

   The man sitting next to Zander looked over to him, "Stay put and whatever you do, don't move!"

   He exited the car, turned to the right, and immediately started firing at some unseen figure, only for a silver knife to strike him between the eyes. 

   Between the gunshots, the knives, and the two bodies sitting a few feet away from Zander, he was still trying comprehend what was happening. Zander was downright terrified! It took him few minutes of sitting in the car, gunfire around him, to realize what was going on. Ajax had come for him.

 

   He needed to do something. He needed to get away. Zander unbuckled his seat belt and opened the car door. As he leaned out he heard another shot and felt a bullet graze his cheek. Zander quickly withdrew back into the car.

 

  He lifted his hand, gently touching the cut on his cheek. When he removed his hand there was blood on his fingers. 

 

"Shit."

 

   For a fleeting moment Zander considered his options. Should he run or was it safer staying in the car? He had to run, or else he would find him.

 

   Gathering his courage, Zander once again opened the door, this time sprinting as soon as it opened. He ran past body after body. It seemed that over half his men were dead. 

  

    Turning around a corner, he nearly tripped over a crack in the concrete. Zander continued running, turning so many corners he didn't know where he was anymore. His lungs were burning like hot coals. He didn't know how much longer he could go on. Through his adrenaline, he vaguely noticed the lack of gunshots. 

 

   Zander flew through a doorway into what looked like an abandoned building. He slowed to halt, breathing heavily and taking in the scenery. The room was dark and grey. The windows were cracked allowing sunlight to bleed thtough. Vines crept up the walls and weeds grew through cracks in the floor.

 

   Grabbing a large, broken plank of wood, Zander jammed it through the door handles. This should buy him at least a little time.

 

"Aww sweetie, that might have worked if there wasn't a back entrance."

 

   Shit. Zander recognized that voice. Whipping around, he saw who he assumed to be Ajax with a gun to one of his security team's head. 

 

   Zander wasn't sure what he expected Ajax to look like. He always thought maybe he was dragon due to the horns. Instead what he saw was some sort of...hybrid....

 

   Ajax seemed feline in some ways, but a monster in others. He had cat ears and basic body build, but great hulking white horns and a long, purple tuffed tail. He was mainly black furred, but had some orange markings on his face and the insides of his ears were purple like his tail. Ajax's eyes were a deep, vibrant purple as well.  He wore a black open suit over a dark grey shirt. His pants, shoes, and gloves were also black, and a bundle of knives was attached to a belt.

 

   His smile was just a little too big and cheerful considering the blood on his face and clothes, and his eyes sparkled with something that could only be described as thrill of the hunt. 

 

   The guard Ajax held hostage squirmed as  they tried to break free from their captor. Ajax merely rolled his eyes and tightened his choke hold.

 

"You ran away, but I figured you might ve wanted to watch the show so I brought the final act to you!"

 

   With that the assassin pulled the trigger of the gun, sending a burst of red into the air. Zander watched horrified as the corpse dropped to the ground, creating a puddle of blood that slowly expanded towards him.

 

  Ajax huffed wiping some splatter off his cheek before grinning at the shark, who only stared back with wide eyes.

 

"What's wrong love? Cat got your toungue?" He stuck his toungue out as if to demonstrate.

 

  Zander had never heard them talk like this. The small conversations they had were always short and to the point. It was then that Zander realized that Ajax was toying with him. He was playing with his prey.

 

 Ajax sighed, "They're never any fun."

 

   With a swift movement, a gloved hand threw a knife, nailing Zander's hand to the wall. He screamed in pain, feeling the blood dribble down his arm.

 

   Ajax waltzed over and sat down next to him as if they were old friends. Zander didn't know what to say or how to proceed. With the strangeness of it all, he couldn't think of anything. There was nothing Zander would be able to do to get out of this. His only hope was if the assassin decided to be merciful. 

 

"You know what sharky boy-"

 

"Don't call me that"

 

"Fucking shit man! Your face to face with death right now and your going to talk back to it!?" Ajax laughed a loud, genuine laugh, "That's what I always liked about you. It's so easy to set you off. Watching you try to fix that light box for hours was hilarious."

 

   Zander hissed at the burning in his hand while Ajax's motion jumbled it. Ajax looked back to Zander with sad eyes. 

 

"You were always my favorite to work with. It's a real shame that you decided to throw that away."

 

   Ajax stood up from the wall and stood in front of Zander. His eyes were no longer sad, but determined. He looked at his gun for a moment, as if it held all the answers to the universe, before pointing the barrel between Zander's eyes. Zander froze, breath hitching.

 

"Goodbye Sharky boy."

 

   The last thing that ran through his head was Kaid's words to him that day.

 

 "He is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick but that will not change its nature."

  

   Then he heard the gun shot, and everything went dark.


End file.
